Between Empirical Laws and Metaphysical Thinking:Dalton's Physical Atomism
Dalton's atomic theory,which consisted of an ontological proof of the atom and a calculation of its relative atomic mass,was defined by historians of chemistry as physical atomism and chemical atomism respectively.Since the former has been disproved by modern chemistry and the latter has made a notable contribution to the chemistry at that time and now,it is prevailing to ignore the former and focus on the latter in Dalton's researches.However,it is difficult to understand Dalton's emphasis on thermodynamics in his early years in this research style.This paper argues that Dalton's theoretical system could be divided into three sections:the atomism,the caloric theory and the affinity theory.Atomism is the ontological assumption for the caloric theory and the affinity theory;his caloric theory and affinity theory provide empirical support for atomism.The synthesis of physical and chemical atomic theory helps us to understand Dalton's thought and to revisit the history of atomic theory in the 19th century.
John Daltonatomic theoryphysical atomismcaloric theory
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